The San Jose Sharks have signed veteran right winger Jamal Mayers to a one-year deal. The signing gives the Sharks depth for their bottom six forwards as Mayers brings a lot of physicality and energy to the team.

The 6’1 214lbs Toronto native was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the 3rd round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. Mayers has played over 730 regular season NHL games and was part of the seven-player trade involving Toronto and Calgary last January.

Jamal Mayers should fit in well playing alongside center Scott Nichol as the two will provide an effective forchecking tandem this upcoming season. Mayers’ $600,000 cap hit leaves the Sharks with a little more than $3 million in cap space to sign two more players.

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Written by Alex Wasserstrom
Native Californian, former minor league pro, and current men's league superstar, Alex Wasserstrom is ProSportsBlogging.com's San Jose Sharks correspondent. Wanna talk puck? Shoot him an email (awassers1@gmail.com) or follow him on Twitter (@Awassers).

4 Comments

In response to “Sharks Add Depth”

I just don’t understand what purpose this signing served… If I were the Sharks’ management team, I’d have gone after Max Afinogenov and been willing to pay up to $3M for his services on a one to two year deal. Mayers brings NOTHING to the table at this stage of his career. His days of being a physical force never existed, so they’re definitely behind him, and he offers very little in terms of offensive potential.

It’s better than the Rangers signing Boogaard, but still… SJ needs more depth, or at least some better defensive forwards. Mayers doesn’t fit either bill…

I think Max is a good player and, at times, is capable of looking like the best player on the ice, however, I’m sure teams interested were informed he was looking for a multi-year contract (as his signing in Russia would reveal).

Then again, his inconsistency as a point producer makes him a gamble for a one-year $2 or $3 million deal absent of their lack of cap space. Why not get a veteran like Mayers at $600k? Sharks’ management must feel like Couture and McGinn are ready to fill their depth lines both at minimal cap hits.

I agree with you somewhat on Afinogenov. However, he’s better than Mayers even on his worst day! My point being that unless McGinn or Couture (both of whom I’m very familiar with from their time in Ottawa 67s system) pick up their game, Mayers is simply taking up a roster spot and not adding anything to the Sharks’ corps of forwards…